Various configurations of electrode assemblies consisting of an anode and a cathode have been disclosed. The configuration and the arrangement of such electrode assemblies in a particular housing is important in that the assembly and configuration impacts upon the (1) amount of active electrode material that can be included in each cell, (2) electrical performance, and (3) the ease of manufacturing.
A useful electrode assembly configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,721. Therein, an electrochemical cell is disclosed in which the lithium anode comprises a unitary and continuous length of zig-zag pleated lithium of a selected width. Individual cathode plates are positioned between pairs of the pleated electrode. A separator is placed between the cathode and the anode to prevent electrical contact between the anode and the cathode.
While this electrode assembly is useful, it is disadvantageous in that it requires the manufacturing step of placing separate cathode plates between the zig-zag pleated anode. Also, such an arrangement requires a series of electrical connections to be made between the various cathode plates and the external electrical contact with the cathode thereby increasing the opportunities for short circuits to occur.